News

Award-winning screenwriter, television writer and playwright Marcus Gardley will give the inaugural Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture in Drama, Film, and the Medicine Related Sciences at Vassar College on Friday, March 3, 5:15pm, in the Martel Theater of the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film. A question-and-answer period will follow the talk. This event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required (see details below).

Gardley's lecture "The Black Deus," will explore various themes, including: What is a black play? What makes a play black? What is the black aesthetic? And what is soul? According to Gardley, "This talk will unpack and illuminate the fundamentals of black drama as it relates to contemporary theater while standing on the shoulders of Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, Adrienne Kennedy, James Baldwin and Alice Childress."

Gardley’s newest play X , based on the life and assassination of Malcom X, will be presented in New York City this March. He was recently the recipient of the Glickman Award for his play The House That Will Not Stand, which was commissioned and produced by Berkeley Rep and had subsequent productions at Yale Rep and the Tricycle Theater in London. The work was also a finalist for the 2015 Kennedy Prize. It is now being adapted as a film directed by Lee Daniels.

His television credits include Showtime's new series The Chi, Z: The Beginning of Everything, starring Christina Ricci, and The Exorcist.

Among his many honors, Gardley was the 2013 USA James Baldwin Fellow and the 2011 PEN Laura Pels award winner for Mid-Career Playwright. The New Yorker describes Gardley as “the heir to Garcia Lorca, Pirandello and Tennessee Williams.” He is an ensemble member playwright at Victory Gardens Theater where his play The Gospel of Loving Kindness was produced in March and won the 2014 BTAA award for best play/playwright. He holds a MFA from Yale Drama School and lives in Los Angeles.

To make a reservation for the lecture, contact the Drama Department at boxoffice@vassar.edu or (845) 437-5599.

The inaugural Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture is hosted this year by the Drama Department and supported by the Office of the Dean of Faculty.

About the Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture Fund in Drama, Film, and the Medicine Related Sciences The Dean of Faculty Office is pleased to announce the first annual Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture in Drama, Film, and Medicine Related Sciences. The Capotorto and Mulas Lecture will rotate each year between drama, film, and the medicine related sciences. The Lecture Fund was made possible by a generous gift from Dr. John Capotorto ‘81 and his wife, Silva Mulas Capotorto. Their son, Joe Capotorto, graduated in 2015.

Vassar College strives to make its events, performances, and facilities accessible to all. Individuals with disabilities requiring special accommodations must contact the Box Office at least 48 hours in advance of an event, Mondays-Fridays, at (845) 437-5599. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space/and or assistance may not be available. For detailed information about accessibility to specific campus facilities, search for “campus accessibility information” on the Vassar homepage (http://www.vassar.edu).

Directions to the Vassar campus, located at 124 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie, NY, are available at www.vassar.edu/directions.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.